Sakura's Birthday Hanami
by Daisy12Pink
Summary: Nozaki invites his friends to a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party for Sakura's birthday, but he and Sakura end up celebrating alone. Disclaimer: I am not an expert on hanami, and I have never been to Japan to experience it, so this might be wildly inaccurate.


Birthday Hanami

Nozaki checked his calendar for his next deadline and noticed that March 27th was Sakura's birthday. "I should really do something for her," he thought, "she's always helping me out." He realized that the end of March and beginning of April was the best time for _hanami_, and what better way to celebrate Sakura's birthday was there than to have a picnic under the _sakura_ trees? After all, Sakura seemed to love his cooking. With all that in mind, he decided to ask his friends to join him in celebrating.

First, he approached Mikoshiba. "Mikoshiba, would you like to have a picnic under the _sakura_ trees on the 27th? Sakura's birthday is then, and I want to surprise her with her favorite foods." Mikoshiba thought for a moment. "It's true that Sakura might enjoy seeing me there," he thought, "but then again, wouldn't she prefer to spend some time alone with Nozaki for her birthday?" After pondering, Mikoshiba shook his head. "I'm sorry Nozaki, but I just remembered that I'm going to visit my grandparents then. But thanks for offering!" Nozaki looked slightly disappointed. "I understand. I hope you have a good visit with them!" After Nozaki left, Mikoshiba breathed a sigh of relief. Then he remembered that Nozaki might ask Wakamatsu. "Oh no! He's absolutely going to accept!" Mikoshiba thought. "I'll have to talk to him before Nozaki does!"

Fortunately for Mikoshiba, Nozaki spoke to Hori next. Hori was too busy with Drama club to join Nozaki's party, but even if he wasn't, he would have also declined for Sakura's sake. This gave Mikoshiba the time he needed to track down and talk to Wakamatsu. "Wakamatsu!" Mikoshiba begged, "If Nozaki comes to you asking if you want to go on a picnic, tell him no!" "Eeh?" Wakamatsu replied, "Why do I need to say no?" Mikoshiba responded, "He wants you to help celebrate Sakura's birthday with him, which is a nice gesture, but Sakura would probably enjoy spending time alone with Nozaki!" Wakamatsu paused to think. "But what kind of friends are we if we refuse to celebrate Sakura-senpai's birthday?" "Don't think of it that way!" Whined Mikoshiba, "Instead, think of it as a favor to Sakura. We're making her birthday better by allowing her to spend time alone with Nozaki. Also, make sure you come up with an excuse of why you can't go so that Nozaki doesn't suspect anything." "You mean, you want me to LIE to Nozaki-senpai?" Asked Wakamatsu. "Just tell him you have basketball practice on the 27th!" Mikoshiba suggested. "But I don't! If Nozaki-senpai wants me to help him out, then I'll go!" Mikoshiba started to wonder if his arguing was pointless and pondered giving up when he heard a thunderous voice. "WAKA!" Seo seemed to scream from a mile away. Wakamatsu's face went pale as he attempted to hide behind Mikoshiba. Seo simply bumped into Mikoshiba, knocking him out of the way, and grabbed Wakamatsu's wrist. "I found you!" She shouted triumphantly, "now let's go get some snacks!" Suddenly Mikoshiba had an epiphany. Before thinking things through, he reached for Seo's arm. "HEY!" Seo exclaimed, "Don't make me beat you up!" Mikoshiba quickly let go and jumped back. Seo began to laugh maniacally. "You should have seen your face! Your eyes were practically bulging out of your head!" Mikoshiba, still recovering from Seo's sudden outburst said, "I am sorry for startling you, dear one, but I have important matters of love which I need to discuss with you." Immediately his face went from ghostly white to a deep, embarrassed red. This made Seo laugh even harder than she was laughing before. She let go of Wakamatsu's wrist, who then ran down the hallway.

Finally, when Seo had settled down she asked with a smirk, "so what are these 'important matters of love'?" Mikoshiba's face turned even more red. He stammered, "W…well, they're not really about me at all… it's more about Sakura and…" "I'm gonna stop you right there," Seo replied gruffly. "If you think you even have a chance with Chiyo, you don't know her well enough. She talks about Nozaki all the time." "THAT'S NOT IT!" Mikoshiba interjected. "Sakura's birthday is coming up and…" Seo interrupted, "You wanna know what to get her as a present? I get it. Just get her a can of corn soup. She's been oddly obsessed with it ever since I told her how to finish eating it." "That's not it either!" Mikoshiba said, even more frustrated. "Stop interrupting and let me finish! Nozaki wants to throw a surprise party for Sakura but…" Once again Seo cut in, "You weren't invited? Are you some kind of third wheel or something?" "It's the complete opposite!" Mikoshiba insisted. "Nozaki invited me and Wakamatsu, but I figured Sakura would rather spend time alone with Nozaki!" "Why is that such a problem?" Seo asked. "Just don't go then." "That's what I'm trying to tell you!" Mikoshiba whined. "I already declined, but Wakamatsu refuses to listen to me!" "Well then, don't worry about it. There's nothing you can do." Seo reasoned. "That's why I'm asking you!" Mikoshiba exclaimed. "If there's anyone who can keep Wakamatsu from attending the party, it's you Seo! Please, do anything you can to keep him occupied on the 27th!" Seo sat there as if she was contemplating it. "That sounds like a pain…" She said. Mikoshiba slapped his hand to his face. "You're always dragging Wakamatsu around to different places, what makes the 27th any different? Just go hang out somewhere like you always do. Go to the movies or the mall or something. Just keep him occupied." Seo's eyes lit up. "So that's what you meant! Putting it that way, it sounds like fun!" She said while grinning. "Guess his plans are gonna have to change!" She said, while walking down the hallway, once again laughing like a maniac. "That girl is…. Something else" thought Mikoshiba.

At the end of the day, Nozaki approached Wakamatsu. "Wakamatsu, do you think you could help me out on the 27th?" "Yes!" Wakamatsu responded. "The 27th is Sakura's birthday isn't it?" Just then, Seo appeared behind him. "Oh no you don't! We're going to go do stuff together that day!" She said with a grin. "Seo-senpai!" Wakamatsu groaned, "But it's Sakura-senpai's birthday! You know! You guys are friends, aren't you?" "Who cares about birthdays? We're gonna have a really good time!" Seo exclaimed, dragging a pleading Wakamatsu away. Nozaki looked on in shock. "Her aggression is only growing it seems…" He thought.

March 27th came, and Sakura was slightly disappointed. "I have to go to Nozaki-kun's apartment to fill in beta today, but I wonder if he remembered that it's my birthday?" She knew that he usually kept his calendar organized, so there was a chance that he did, but perhaps he was too busy with his manga and forgot. She sighed, but determined that either way she would still be happy. "Even if he forgets, I still get to be with him on my birthday, which is more than I can say about last year!" She walked out to the school entrance and saw Nozaki waiting for her. No matter how many times she saw him waiting there for her, it still made her heart skip a beat every single time. They walked together to his apartment, chatting along the way about school and manga ideas. Once they reached his apartment, Nozaki headed immediately into the kitchen, while Sakura took off her shoes and started heading into the living room. Noticing her, Nozaki said, "You don't have to bother going in there today." "Huh?" Sakura asked, "Why not?" Nozaki grabbed a large picnic basket. "We're not doing any manga work today. I came here just to grab this. We're going on a picnic today." Sakura's eyes lit up. "Really?" Nozaki nodded. "Happy birthday, Sakura!"

Nozaki and Sakura left the apartment and headed to the train station. "I unfortunately couldn't get Mikoshiba, Hori, or Wakamatsu to join us. They were all preoccupied. "Oh?" Sakura said, trying to sound disappointed. She silently thanked them for not interfering as the two boarded the train. Once they arrived in the park, Sakura gaped at the scenery. She clung excitedly to Nozaki's arm. "Nozaki-kun! Are we going to have a _hanami_ picnic!?" She asked. Nozaki nodded. "I figured it would be appropriate to celebrate your birthday." "I've always wanted to do this!" She said excitedly. Once the train stopped, she rushed off, crossed the street, and found a sunny spot under one of the larger trees in full bloom. Nozaki wasn't far behind thanks to his long legs. "You should be more careful when crossing the street, Sakura." Nozaki pointed out. Sakura giggled. "You sound like my Mom! Anyway, I'm sorry. I was just so excited!" Nozaki chuckled a bit before opening up his basket and pulling out a large blanket for the two to sit on.

Not far behind, Mikoshiba watched as they got set up. Mikoshiba's contradicting feelings of not wanting to be left out, and wanting to make sure nobody hindered Sakura's time with Nozaki on her birthday both led him to the park to keep an eye on them. He watched as they pulled out tasty dishes and snacks. Nozaki brought out dango with cute little eye shapes stuck to them which reminded Mikoshiba of a sad anime he once watched. He also brought out bento boxes which seemed to be full of rice, but Sakura flipped them over immediately to reveal curry underneath. "Has he served that to her before?" Mikoshiba wondered. Just then he heard distinct maniacal laughter in the distance. He quickly turned around to discover that his worst nightmare had come true. "Oh no!" He thought, "In my haste to get Seo to take Wakamatsu away, I forgot to tell her the places to avoid!" Mikoshiba quickly got up and ran over to where they were. "Oh hey, Mikoshiba-senpai!" Wakamatsu said in greeting. "H..hi…" Mikoshiba responded, unsure of how he was going to fix the situation. "What brings you two here?" "I tried to take this dummy to watch a movie, but he apparently wants to see the _sakura_ trees instead." Seo pouted. "That's because the movies you always watch are violent and scary!" Wakamatsu whined. Fortunately, Mikoshiba was able to come up with a plan. "You think the trees here are great? I know an even better park filled with more trees across town! Let me take you there!" He said. Wakamatsu nodded his head eagerly. "Great idea senpai! As expected, you know the best places to look at flowers!" Mikoshiba blushed since Wakamatsu just referenced his work as an assistant in front of Seo, but he knew it was best to ignore it and keep Wakamatsu's trust. After convincing the two to go with him, he realized that he had one more obstacle to overcome. Because of Sakura's excitement, she and Nozaki were sitting not too far from the train station. Realizing this, Mikoshiba kept everyone's attention on him and said, "The train station is this way!" while walking in the opposite direction of where Sakura and Nozaki were sitting. Once again, Wakamatsu was quick to trust Mikoshiba's judgement, but Seo was about to object. She glanced back quickly and saw Nozaki and Sakura. Reluctantly, she turned back and followed Mikoshiba.

"Everything is delicious Nozaki-kun!" Sakura praised, "Thank you!" Nozaki chuckled. "Do you still have room for more?" He asked. "Is there more?" Sakura responded, almost unable to believe that Nozaki could fit all of that into his picnic basket. Nozaki reached in and grabbed a cheesecake. Sakura gasped. "You made that for me?" She asked. Nozaki simply nodded. He cut a slice and put it on her plate. "Enjoy!" Nozaki ate a slice as well, but after that, both of them were stuffed. "It really is too bad that nobody else came… Do you want to take some of this cake home with you? I'll have too much to eat by myself otherwise." Nozaki said. Sakura nodded eagerly. "It tastes amazing! Thank you!" She exclaimed. The rest of the afternoon, they walked through the park, admiring the blossoms. Nozaki couldn't help but draw a quick sketch while Sakura attempted to catch the falling petals. "Mamiko will catch one of the petals and hold it close to her heart…" He thought, as Sakura frolicked about. Eventually the sun started setting, and the two got back on the train. Although Nozaki's stop was about halfway to Sakura's house, he decided to ride with her until she arrived at her stop. After sending her off, Nozaki returned back home to his apartment.

The next day, Sakura opened up her shoe locker to find four cards and a small present. Each one of the cards was from Mikoshiba, Hori, Wakamatsu, and Seo. The cards from Mikoshiba and Hori apologized that they weren't able to celebrate her birthday with her, but hoped she had a good time with Nozaki. She blushed as she realized that they had helped to make her birthday party feel more like a date than any previous outing with Nozaki. Wakamatsu's card was also apologetic, but his seemed more like he was forced not to attend due to some strange circumstances. Seo's card seemed like a list of all the things she did yesterday including rubbing _sakura_ petals into Wakamatsu's hair. Seemingly disconnected from the message, she included, "Happy birthday!" at the end. "Oh well," thought Sakura, "That's Yuzuki-chan all right." She then inspected the present that she got. It was from Mikoshiba, so she expected something heartfelt and genuine, only to open it and realize that it was canned corn soup. "Is this from Mikorin or Yuzuki-chan?" She wondered.


End file.
